Radha, the passionate and cherished beloved of the pastoral god Krishna, is the protagonist of Sutra Foundation’s Odissi production, Radhe! Radhe!, which had its world premiere in Kuala Lumpur last October 2025. It is now set for its second season in 2026, followed by a Malaysia tour.
Sutra has just returned from a triumphant India tour of New Delhi, Chandigarh and Vadodara, as part of ICCR’s 11th International Dance and Music Festival. Even before that, following its premiere in Kuala Lumpur, Sutra Foundation had presented this work to the four major Odissi centres of Odisha – Kolkata, Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and New Delhi – taking the cities by storm with superb reviews.
The second Malaysia season of Radhe! Radhe! 2.0 will be Sutra Foundation’s major offering for 2026. Radhe! Radhe! 2.0 will now take on a seven-city Malaysia tour (Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Klang, Melaka, Johor Bahru, Kulim, Penang) from April to June 2026.
The ecstatic love between the enigmatic and impulsive Radha, the chosen gopi, and the rather ‘incorrigible’ but irresistible Krishna has sparked inexhaustible medieval literature. Radha embodies the ‘hladini shakti’, the essence of joy and happiness within the essential spirit and ‘Maya’ of Krishna.
Radha represents the individual soul who feels incomplete if separated from the source of its energy and raison d’être – Krishna, the Universal Spirit Incarnate. Radha, the individual soul, demands absolute devotion from her lover Krishna/Universal Spirit. Krishna’s attention is easily distracted by the adoration lavished upon him by other gopis.
Radha and Krishna are bound in a mystico-erotic love relationship, journeying through the full gamut of rasa – from lovers’ quarrels and painful separations to joyful reconciliation – culminating in Radha’s ultimate realisation and complete surrender to Krishna, the eternal manifestation of the Universal Lover.
This production marks another significant Malaysia–India collaboration between Sutra Foundation, led by Datuk Ramli Ibrahim, and Bhubaneswar-based Tridhara, under Guru Gajendra Panda. Both dance gurus have undertaken several field research trips in Ganjam, South Odisha, to experience Radha Prema Leela – a folk dance-drama genre from which this production draws its inspiration.
The production will also take its visual inspiration from Pattachitra, the indigenous visual art form of Odisha, created specially by New Delhi-based artist Bibhu Patnaik. The central thrust of the production for both Ramli and Gajendra has been to enrich the repertoire of contemporary classical Odissi derived from the wealth of folk traditions of the region.
Radhe! Radhe! continues Sutra’s celebrated series of productions inspired by the culture-rich South Odisha – including GANJAM, Amorous Delight, and Jaya Ram – drawing inspiration from the vibrant folk performing and visual art traditions of the Ganjam district.
